White Fences Quilt

I started this quilt in 2012, the same year I started quilting. I sketched it out all cute on a sheet of graph paper.  I still remember waiting in line at my local quilt shop with the two bolts. I cut out about half the quilt. I even started sewing.

I had some notion of this quilt being inspired by those beautiful horse fences you see in Kentucky, I think.

Then I got distracted by something shiny.

The pieces sat in my work in progress box. Every time I saw them I thought about getting back to that quilt.

The years past, so much changed. I made lots of quilts. We grew up a lot. I looked at this quilt in my sewing room and thought about finishing it. I think we all have seasons in our lives where we look back and realize that we passed some developmental stage during that time. Between 26 and 30 I feel like I became an adult. Not in the, now I can pay my bills kind of way, or even, the I can't be goofy and have fun kind of way. I mean my priorities shifted and my outlook changed. I was looking for a place in the world, I stopped waiting for "real" life to happen and started living my life.

That whole time I would occasionally look at the pieces of this quilt up and think, I will finish this someday, not now.

Then, in my 30th year,  everything changed again. We bought a house. We moved to another town. We reached another life milestone.

New years eve of this year, I was cleaning my new sewing room in my new, much loved house (actually it is a really old house) and I saw the pieces of this quilt and I knew it was time to finish it.

I finished it that night while drinking champagne (no joke).

I quilted it the next day.

It was time finish this quilt. I just didn't know that I was waiting until I was home.

Quilt Stats:
Name: White Fences
Size: 67" x 68"
Pattern: Designed by a 2012 version of me
Quilting: Organic grid with Aurifil thread
Finished: January 2016

The Softest Quilt.

I seem to only find myself in this space when I am procrastinating or I have abandoned my daily routine. I could apologize for that, but I think you all get it. So pull, up a chair, I am drinking a pot of tea and ignoring chores right now.

I am not going to say, "I am just so busy." I reject that generally for myself. I have made choices that keep me away from this blog and I am okay with that. I could make different choices, but, for me, just coming here occasionally is the right choice for now.

I have a new house that is tons of work. I have full time job that is more than just a day job, it is a career that requires me to invest myself in it physically and mentally. I have a husband that deserves some of my time. I like to eat. I like to sleep. It is a good life.

Anyway, enough of your complaining Sarah! This is a quilting blog.

I still sew almost everyday. I still like blogging and sharing. So, I still have a quilt to share!

This quilt. Is the most comforting quilt I have ever made.



Last summer was not a good time for me. I had a huge deadline at work. We were buying a house that was under construction. And oh, our lease for our rental ran out and we had nowhere to live. Now, do not feel sorry for me! We have tons of lovely friends and family and the means to rent something short term and move our stuff into storage. It was stressful, not catastrophic.

At the end of July, we had to move out of the tiny house we had lived in for the past five years and move everything we owned into a storage unit. Then move ourselves (and very cranky cat) into a coworker's house (aside: the very best coworker in the whole entire world!). Then the next day I had to leave for a business trip.

It was a tough time.



Like many people, I lost all of my inspiration. I just did not have the energy to think (also, most of my supplies were packed away in a storage unit). Before I moved I put all of the double gauze I owned into bag and then I started this quilt. This is the softest quilt I have ever made. It is not complicated. I didn't plan it out, I just started making hearts (using this awesome tutorial). Then I cut a bunch of squares 5.5 inches tall and random widths. I knew that I didn't want to worry too much about aligning seams or keeping angles perfect, because double gauze is shifty stuff and it would be futile.

The fabric is a mix of Cotton & Steel, Nano Iro, and some random Japanese brands. I didn't worry about matching or even trimming selvedges.


Then it was a quilt top. I backed it in this perfect soft cotton lawn with some fun hot pinks, because I love hot pink. Quilting was simple and relaxing too, just random straight-ish lines. It was the first quilt I basted and quilted in my new house. It felt like magic.

Before I washed it, I noticed I had a fray in a seam (double gauze...). I didn't want to worry too much about that so I used some fray check and an awesome patch with some visible mending.



This quilt was therapy. Now it travels with me when I go on work trips and I can snuggle under the softest quilt.

Friends. Thanks for bearing with me on this long post. Sometimes the words just need to come out.

Love ya.



Quilt Stats:
Name: Softest Quilt
Size: No idea, small throw
Pattern: Simple patchwork with lovely hearts from Cluck Cluck Sew's tutorial
Quilting: Simple grid with Aurifil thread (white)
Fabric: Primarily Nano Iro and Cotton & Steel double gauze, Heather Ross Tiger Lily Lawn on the back.
Finished: September 2015